The Early Norman Castles of the British Isles.Armitage, Ella Sophia
History
The Early Norman Castles of the British Isles.
Armitage, Ella Sophia
Architecture, Norman; Castles -- Great Britain -- History -- To 1500; Normans -- Great Britain
The motte of Warwick is mentioned several times in the _Pipe Rolls_
of Henry II.; it then carried wooden structures on its top.[749] In
Leland's time there were still standing on this motte the ruins of a
keep, which he calls by its Norman name of the Dungeon. A fragment of
a polygonal shell wall still remains.[750] But there is not a scrap of
masonry of Norman date about the castle. The motte, and the earthen
bank which still runs along one side of the court, show that the first
castle was a wooden one. The bailey is oblong in shape, the motte being
outside it; its area is about 2-1/2 acres.
The value of Warwick had doubled since the Conquest.
[Illustration: FIG. 36. Warwick. Wigmore, Hereford.]
WIGMORE, Herefordshire (Fig. 36).--We have already referred to the
absurdity of identifying this place with the _Wigingamere_ of the
_Anglo-Saxon Chronicle_.[751] We have the strongest indication that the
Norman castle at Wigmore was a new erection, since Domesday Book tells
us that William FitzOsbern built it on waste land called Mereston.[752]
This express statement disposes of the fable in the _Fundationis
Historia_ of Wigmore Priory, that the castle of Wigmore had belonged
to Edric the Wild, and was rebuilt by Ralph Mortimer.[753] Wigmore had
only been a small manor of two taxable hides in Saxon times. Whereas
it had then been unproductive, at the date of the Survey there were two
ploughs in the demesne, and the borough attached to the castle yielded
7_l._ Here we have another instance of the planting of a borough close
to a castle, and of the revenue which was thus obtained.
There is a very large and high motte at Wigmore Castle, of oval shape,
on a headland which has been cut off by a deep ditch. The earthen
banks of its first fortification still remain, enclosing a small ward,
but on top of them is a wall in masonry, and the ruins of a polygonal
keep;[754] also the remains of two mural towers. Half-way down the end
of the headland, below the motte, is a small square court, which _may_
have been the original bailey; below it, again, is a larger half-moon
bailey furnished with walls and towers. But the whole area covered
is only 1 acre. The masonry is none of it earlier than the Decorated
period, except one tower in the bailey wall which may be late Norman.
[Illustration: FIG. 37. Winchester. (From a plan by W. Godson, 1750.)]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account